Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Sells 204,819 Shares of Warner Music Group Corp. $WMG

Key Points

• Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. significantly reduced its holdings in Warner Music Group Corp. by 92.0%, selling 204,819 shares to hold only 17,930 shares, valued at approximately $488,000.
• Research analysts have mixed opinions on Warner Music Group, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $35.53, while some analysts predict the company's EPS will be 1.39 for the current year.
• Warner Music Group recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.19 per share from $0.18, representing an annualized yield of 2.3% but with a high payout ratio of 133.33%.

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. decreased its position in shares of Warner Music Group Corp. (NASDAQ:WMG - Free Report) by 92.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,930 shares of the company's stock after selling 204,819 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.'s holdings in Warner Music Group were worth $488,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Warner Music Group by 528.0% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,884 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 1,584 shares in the last quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL lifted its stake in Warner Music Group by 20.0% in the second quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 12,575 shares of the company's stock valued at $343,000 after buying an additional 2,097 shares in the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC lifted its stake in Warner Music Group by 18.9% in the second quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 15,830 shares of the company's stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 2,512 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Warner Music Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $932,000. Finally, Revisor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Warner Music Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Institutional investors own 96.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $39.00 price target on shares of Warner Music Group and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. UBS Group set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Warner Music Group in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Warner Music Group from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Warner Music Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $35.53.

Warner Music Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ WMG opened at $32.82 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.37. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $33.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.26. Warner Music Group Corp. has a 1 year low of $25.56 and a 1 year high of $36.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.32.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.30). Warner Music Group had a return on equity of 39.95% and a net margin of 4.59%.The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.27 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Warner Music Group Corp. will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Warner Music Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th were issued a $0.19 dividend. This is an increase from Warner Music Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 20th. Warner Music Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 133.33%.

About Warner Music Group

Warner Music Group Corp. operates as a music entertainment company in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and internationally. It operates through Recorded Music and Music Publishing segments. The Recorded Music segment is involved in the discovery and development of recording artists, as well as related marketing, promotion, distribution, sale, and licensing of music created by such recording artists; markets its music catalog through compilations and reissuances of previously released music and video titles, as well as previously unreleased materials; and conducts its operation primarily through a collection of record labels, such as Warner Records and Atlantic Records, as well as Asylum, Big Beat, Canvasback, East West, Erato, FFRR, Fueled by Ramen, Nonesuch, Parlophone, Reprise, Roadrunner, Sire, Spinnin' Records, Warner Classics, and Warner Music Nashville.

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